Monday, March 23, 2015

Returning Tree Swallows

Beaver Creek Nature Center - March 18th

It's that time of year when the swallows are returning from their winter sojourn in the south. Their numbers are just beginning to trickle in, but will grow in the coming weeks. Tree Swallows as this pair shown in this photo, are typically the first of the swallows to arrive, and with their presence it signals the important time to make sure your nesting boxes are in place and ready. I've already had Black-caped Chickadees checking out one of my boxes. Violet-green Swallows will also be coming soon and it will be an interesting show to watch and see which birds win the competition for the nesting boxes. It's important for your nesting box to have a entrance hole smaller than an inch and a half to be able to exclude the pesky House Sparrows from using it. It's beneficial to help the swallows with nesting sites because we have destroyed much of their natural habitat of standing snags to nest in. It's a win-win situation for us because as we provide nesting opportunity for them they will in turn help keep the mosquito population down.